Mining, oil and gas responsible for 70 per cent of growth since 1997: MUN study

A display of women’s erotica books was one of the attractions at the Risque Sex Expo in May. Organizers said they were going to give part of the proceeds from the event to Planned Parenthood, but as the event lost money, they didn’t. — Telegram file photo

A report this week from Memorial University outlines just how much of an effect Newfoundland and Labrador’s oil boom has had on the province’s productivity growth.

The study, conducted by Ottawa’s Centre for the Study of Living Standards and funded by MUN’s economics department, through its Collaboration for Applied Research in Economics initiative, found that the province’s business sector increased at nearly twice the rate of Canada’s (4.55 per cent per year in N.L., compared with 2.50 per cent nationally) between 1997 and 2010. In 2010, the province’s labour productivity level was $75.20 per hour, about 57 per cent higher than the Canadian average of $47.79.

The study found that nearly 70 per cent of additional nominal output in Newfoundland and Labrador from 1997 to 2010 is due to the mining and oil and gas extraction sector, which, in 2010, represented

50.4 per cent of the province’s business sector’s output, compared with 8.2 per cent in 1997.

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Neil Dawe of Conception Bay South is one of five honorees from across Canada elected to the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects College of Fellows this year. The fellowship is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the profession through longtime excellence in executed works, administrative professional work in public agencies, professional university instruction, professional writing and community service, according to the society.

Dawe, the owner and president of Tract Consulting and the managing partner of VIRDIS Place Branding and Design, was cited for his work on projects encompassing tourism development, environmental planning and resource conservation in Newfoundland and Labrador for more than 25 years, including the Grand Concourse walkway network of St. John’s. Dawe was elected during a convention in Regina earlier this month.

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An update on the Risque Sex Expo held in May at the Remax Centre: earlier this month I reported that organizers pledged a portion of the proceeds to Planned Parenthood. But that donation didn’t happen, because organizers say the event lost money on high overhead and lower-than-expected attendance.

I asked how many people did attend but didn’t get a response until this week. For the record, from event co-ordinator Marlene Moser, in an email: “Due to a variety of factors (multiple $10 K-Rock blitz tickets, $5 off day-of-discount coupons, $5 off day of for dressing risqué and hundreds of complimentary tickets given away from K-Rock, NL Buy & Sell, campus radio, etc.) it is difficult to determine the exact number of attendees.”

A display of women’s erotica books was one of the attractions at the Risque Sex Expo in May. Organizers said they were going to give part of the proceeds from the event to Planned Parenthood, but as the event lost money, they didn’t. — Telegram file photo

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The Port au Port anti-frackers evidently want to confine the oil boom to the east coast. When government cheques are the source of family income, private industry should not be permitted to intrude on their workless bliss.